THE NORTHAMPTON MATCH.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12644, 3 November 1905, Page 7

THE NORTHAMPTON MATCH.

We take the following from the London " Morning Leader ":—

OBJECT LESSONS IN RUGBY AT NORTHAMPTON.

AN AMAZING RECORD.

It was a striking testimony to the prowess of the New ZeatanderS' that just before yesterday's match at Northampton everybody was speculating as to flbiow many points the local club would ibe beaten. There was a general resignation to the Saints' defeat, and defeated they were, by 4 goals and 4 tries, or 32 points, to nil. So far this is the

smallest soore tihait the New Zealanders have registered out of an aggregate of 169 to 4 (scored, by the way, by Devon and not Cornwall), and in that respect Nontihampbon may console themselves fox a reverse which might have been mudh worse. At half-time the Colonials led. by 21 points, and one had the impression tihiat in the second portion of the game they took things easily.

WEIGHT AND SPEED. On a first acquaintance with the New Zealand style Of play it is not altogether easy to cave a definite ©morion, because the methods are so different in many respeots to what we are accustomed to in England. Yet I came away with a very clear opinikm as to the general strength, ability, and effectiveness of. the teaan. The size >of the men. will appeal to the general public, for there are half a dozen players in the team w<ho are real giants. The average weight is 12 stone, and the young gen-,, tlemen who " locks tihe scrum" tips the beaim at 15st., so that although they do play one man less in tthe pack than we do the total weight is quite enough for their purpose. We, too, (have big, weighty saruonmagers in this country, but I dare say none so fast as /the New Zealand forwards. The speed of the whole team is little short of marvellous, and it is this quality ratlher than the 'high degree of comibina/tion which they have attained which makes them so dangerous and such prolific scorers.

CLEVER " TOUCH " FINDERS. •Northampton gave them a very good game up to a certain point. They tackled with as much vigor as the opposition and made them go all the way, but their fight was all more or less of a defensive character. Once in "the first half they made the New Zealand fullback touch down, and in the second half Miles, the sturdy ex-Leicestter flier, made one or two (runs that sent local enthusiasm up to fever heat. One could not, however, reasonably say that the visitors -were ever in danger of being scoored against. Whenever the Northampton pack got too near for their liking the New Zealanders simply found touch weM down the field and relieved the situation. Better touch-finding I ■have rarely seen, not even by Welsh teams. Like the Welshmen, they prefer to keep the game going without resort to the touch-kick in order to make progress. Yet every mam in the team seemed able to use his feet well for this purpose, and, as far as that goes, I should say that tihe strong point of the team," individually and collectively, is ita versatility. Every man is well grounded into the primary moves oi the game. He can be a forwaid dribbling the loose and packing fiercely in the scrum, or he can transpose himself into a flying three-quarter, with the knack of doubling, 'baobing-up, and passing the ball. This protean halbit encourages the idea that the New Zealanders have more men on the field tJhan their opponents. They seem to be always attacking, and if by any dhance tthey happen to be on the defence tihen also they appear to be bobbing up everywhere, the whole team resolved into one big huanan octopus, with myriads of arms ready to embrace the enemy in a deadly grip, and bring him to the ground.

-AN IMPENETRABLE DEFENCE. In the light of their phenomenal scoring it may seem foolish to say so, but I fancy the Colonials' strongest point will 'be their defence. When they run up against really fine forwards, with good 'backs to support them, as, .say, in Wales, backs who have made a profound study of offensive tactics, this idea will be tested for what it is worth. There may be weak points in their armour, but I confess that I could discover none yesterday. The arrangement of the backs behin4 the scrum all makes for defence. There is the, wing forward ; a who stands on the edge;>lpf the scrum, and always puts the ball in for the halfback, who does what we 'usually call the donkey work close in. .Behind these men are a pair of five-eighths and three three-quarter backs, who more dften thain not foynx a line of five players extended right: across the field with the ;tMlHpack,-in the <r§ar. Each ,of these, "backs" are' big, weighty fellows, terribly*" fast demons at tackling, and who knew exactfly what each other are going to do. Imagine the difficulty of getting through a defence of this kind.

THE ART OF INDIVIDUALISM. A good deal of the New Zealand attack seems on the surface to be rather wild and unfinished, but their play changes its character so rapidly and so often according to necessity that.what may seem aimless is simply part of their eysltem. The backs-don't exhibit that bewildering intricacy and accuracy of "passing that Swansea would give you, for instance, but they can pass if they like, and very well, too, with a cool deliberateneGS that surprises the opposing defence into a sort of paralysed admiration. Passing, however, is only a mere detail with the New Zealanders, and it is the individual running, the ■ sprint straight through the backs, the birdlike swoop and swerve, the feint and dodge that will commend themselves to the respect and fear of English teams. Not since the days of Stoddart have I seen this art of individual effort so finely illustrated. We have " combined" the individual player out of existence nowadays, but the New Zealanders have happily preserved the two qualities, making of combination and individualism one happy productive blend. If their visit does nothing else, and we Englishmen have much to learn from them in the way of enterprise and originality, the example of the New Zealanders should at least cause a revival of the -individual who has almost become extinct since the four three-quar-ter game came into vogue.

PRACTICE BEFORE BREAKFAST. The famous wing forward behaved himself wonderfully well at Northampton. He did not stand persistently offside as some over keen-eyed critics have observed. I can call to mind a recent English international half-back who could easily give him points at that sort of thing, but the winger's obstruction of the opposing half, who is coming round to tackle the scrum half with the ' ££. es n^ seem 9H ite the thing to me. There is a suspicion of unfairness about it. Against really good packs, the Colonials may find that the extra frxrwaird means a lot, and yesterday the iNonthampton men often beat them for possession, and heeled out better. The Colonial forwards, whose great height ■gives them a rare advantage in the line out, get down very smartly to the sorum, packing two, three, and two, and tlhas wedgehke formation is very effective. They break up the scrum with great rapidity, and their spreading movement, fanlike across the field is equal to that of a Welsh team. The men are in splendid condition, and they surprised the Northampton people by going into the field at seven o'clock yesterday morning for practice. Can you imagine the young, steady-going, pfoddang Jack Bull doing likewise?

"THE TIGERS" TO-MORROW. The tries were gained by Hunter (3), Roberts, Sbead, Harper, Tyler, and Mynofct, whale Wallace, a skilled kicker and the fastest man in the team, placed four goals. The players, dressed in "bfaok, -with just a white fern worked m the left breast of their jerseys, have a rather som<bre appearance, (but this quality does not extend to their prospects. The jerseys are interwoven across the shoulders and chest with a silken cloth, wihioh renders tackling rather difficult, but then, of course, the proper way is to collar low. Northampton w&re out-classed, but young Malkin. at halfback, Miles and Coles at three-

quarter, and Leigh, the full-back, gavo a good account of themselves, while the referee, Mr F. Nichols, of the Midland Counties Union, was splendid, and was. rarely troubled toy the peocadillotis of the wing forward. I hoar tthat England are going to meet All France at t>he Rugby game in Paris an April Ist next. I wonder if they will beat -tilie Frenchmen by more points than the New Zea-landea-s will beat them by in December? I have almost forgotten to say t'liat about 6000 spectators were present yesterday, including the Leicester team, who meet tihe New Zealandera tomorrow. ASTRAL.